Pa. a hot spot for campaigns

November 04, 2012|By JENNIFER FITCH | waynesboro@herald-mail.com

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. — The Obama and Romney campaigns turned their attention to Pennsylvania and its 20 electoral votes this weekend as polls showed the president holding only a slight lead in the state coming into Tuesday’s election.

In Franklin County, Pa., registered Republican voters outnumber Democrats nearly 2-to-1. Still, county political watchers say turnout will be key when polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Voter turnout was 72 percent in Franklin County in November 2008, according to published reports.

Franklin County has 75 voting precincts and more than 73,000 registered voters.

Voters will not only be electing a president. They’ll be making selections for a U.S. Senate seat between Democratic incumbent Bob Casey Jr., Republican Tom Smith and Libertarian Rayburn Douglas Smith.

U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Pa., faces a re-election challenge from Mercersburg, Pa., resident Karen Ramsburg, who changed her party affiliation from independent to Democrat after the primary election.

Franklin County voters will join their counterparts in Adams County and part of York County in casting ballots for the 33rd District in the Pennsylvania Senate. Incumbent Richard Alloway, a Republican, will appear on ballots with Democratic challenger Bruce Neylon.

Voters in the 89th District of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives can choose between GOP incumbent Rob Kauffman and Democratic challenger Susan Spicka. That district includes the Chambersburg and Shippensburg, Pa., areas.

State Rep. Todd Rock, a Republican from the 90th District, which includes Waynesboro and Greencastle, Pa., is in an uncontested race for re-election.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett signed an executive order providing for specific accommodations for emergency responders dealing with the effects of Superstorm Sandy. Those emergency responders absent from their home county on Election Day may apply for absentee ballots by 5 p.m. today via several methods, including U.S. mail that is postmarked today.

For more information regarding absentee ballots for emergency responders or other voting-related questions, call the Franklin County Voter Registration Office at 717-261-3886.

If your voter information is showing an outdated name or address, by law you can return to your old polling place and vote in one election. While at the polling place, ask poll workers to provide the form to update your name and/or address for the next election.